Are you planning to stay in Berlin over the Easter Weekend? Great. There are just a few things you probably should probably know about Easter in Berlin. First the dates:
- 17 April 2025 – Holy Thursday (Gründonnerstag)
- 18 April 2025 – Good Friday (Karfreitag)
- 20 April 2025 – Easter Sunday (Ostersonntag)
- 21 April 2025 – Easter Monday (Ostermontag)
Public Holidays – Opening Hours during the Easter Weekend
First of all: an Easter Weekend in Berlin is probably not the best opportunity for shopping. Good Friday (German: “Karfreitag”) is more or less like a regular Sunday – which means that almost all shops are usually closed. You may find some late shops and Kiosks open. But don’t expect to go shopping on Good Friday.
On Easter Saturday however all shops are open, as if it was a regular Saturday. Easter Sunday ‘everything’ is again closed – just like on a regular Sunday. And on Easter Monday again all shops are closed, just like on Good Friday an Easter Sunday.
So shopping on Easter can be a bit difficult. But there are of course many other options, many other things to do in Berlin on Easter Weekend.
Things to do on Easter in Berlin
First of all: Easter ist quite a social event. Many people travel to visit friend or family – others are going for a trip to another city. But, wherever they are, I think it’s safe to say that in general people enjoy to go for a stroll on Easter. Many people consider the Easter Weekend the first ‘real’ opportunity to enjoy a first glimpse of spring – or at least they want to check, if spring time has finally arrived. Or if at least Winter is gone. Some may meet with friends and/or family and go for an Easter Walk, others may meet in a park a let the children hunt for eggs and sweets and treats. Other just have dinner or go straight to the bar and/or clubbing. But it’s of course also ok to just stay home and spend a long quiet weekend on the couch reading.
Easter Markets / Flea Markets in Berlin 2025
Even though Easter may not be a good time for shopping, there are some special ‘shopping opportunities throughout the Easter Weekend: Easter Markets and Flea Markets.
- 18th Easter Knights Festival 2025 (“Oster-Ritterfest”) at Zitadelle Spandau »
Historical “Medieval” Market, Food, Drinks, Music and Shows on various stages, horses etc. – and of course Knights. The Market is open 18th – 21st April 2025 at Zitadelle Spandau. See also: official programe at carnica-spectaculi.de - Berlin Easter Market 2025 at Breitscheidplatz / Memorial Church (tba)
The Market is open at least on the Easter Weekend (Free / No Admission) – check for updates: Oster-und Frühlingsmarkt in der City West (info page at berlin.de in german)
- Easter Market at Alexanderplatz 2025 (tba)
The Market is open at least on the Easter Weekend (Free / No Admission) – check for updates: berlin.de/…
- Ostermarkt at Potsdamer Platz (tbs)
In the past years, a large Easter market was held for the first time on Potsdamer Platz. Currently, it is not yet known whether the market will take place again in 2025.
berlin.de/kultur-und-tickets/tipps/ostern/…
Flea Markets
Most of the Berlin Flea Markets are of course also open during their regular operating times – which means depending on their regular opening times on Easter Saturday and/or Easter Sunday: Berlin Flea Markets
Traditional German Easter Food
Easter has always been a traditional food celebration – for various different reasons. In Christian traditions Easter is mostly about celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And therefore it’s also the end of Lent / the Lenting season – the period of fasting. But as far as I know Easter has been about food and fertility long before Christian religion was established in Northern / Central Europe.
For many people it’s common to have one or more ‘Easter Nests’ around the house. The Easter Nest is often a more or less colorful decorated basket or bowl, often padded with fake or real grass you can buy from flower shops, stuffed with colorful candy, chocolate and sweets of all kinds in some Easter shape: eggs, chicken, bunny rabbits, flowers etc.
Berlin Restaurants during Easter Weekend
Since in Berlin and Germany the Easter Festivities are a lot about food, good food, lots of good food, most of the Cafés, Restaurants and Bars are open during the Easter Weekend. Some might even have special Easter Offers that you need to make a reservation for. On Easter Sunday and Monday Easter Brunch is a popular thing to do. You may also want to consider having a nice brunch at one of the many hotels in town. Again: you better check for availability in advance.
Doing the Egg-Thing: Decorating Eggs
What can I say about Decorating Eggs? Well – it’s probably the most popular Easter Custom in Germany. For Easter people love to decorate eggs. Eggs are painted in various colors, drawn on or patterns are scratched into the shell. Then the eggs are either hung from a tree or a bush placed in a basket or in a nest made of straw or napkins. And it’s great fun, too.
Doing the Egg-Thing: Easter Egg Hunt
For me the Easter Egg Hunting is probably the custom that I remember best from my childhood. Parents hide mostly sweets, candies, goodies and little toys either around the house, the garden or in a nearby park. Then the kids have to go on the Egg Hunt and find all the little treats the Easter Bunny has supposedly hidden for them.
As far as I know most people go on the Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Saturday – but it seems to vary between family traditions. Considering the Egg Hunt, Easter in Berlin may be a bit different from Easter in other parts of Germany: since people lack a proper garden, the Egg Hunt is often ‘celebrated’ indoors – or in a nearby park.
Easter Fires
The Easter Fire is another important custom in lost areas around Germany. Mostly practiced in the country side it also made its way into the more rural neighborhoods – and there are actually also some public Easter Fires in Berlin you may attend.
The first one that comes to my mind is the Easter Fire at Kulturbrauerei in Prenzlauer Berg. Here is a list of Easter Fires across Berlin – the list is actually in German, but you may still find it useful, I hope: Osterfeuer in Berlin (berlin.de)
Easter dates of previous years:
2024
- 28 March 2024 – Holy Thursday (Gründonnerstag)
- 29 March 2024 – Good Friday (Karfreitag)
- 31 March 2024 – Easter Sunday (Ostersonntag)
- 1. April 2024 – Easter Monday (Ostermontag)
2023
- 6 April 2023– Holy Thursday (Gründonnerstag)
7 April 2023 – Good Friday (Karfreitag)
9 April 2023 – Easter Sunday (Ostersonntag)
10 April 2023 – Easter Monday (Ostermontag)
see also:
Berlin Public Holidays / Bank Holidays in Berlin 2024 / 2025
On this page you’ll find the dates for Public Holidays and Bank Holidays in Berlin and Brandenburg. For other states the dates may vary.
Do you have and thoughts, suggestions, additional recommendations or comments? Please feel free to leave your comment below. Thank you!
Thank you for a very useful post! Are restaurants usually open in Berlin during Easter?
Hi Annukka,
Yes, definitely – most, if not all cafés, restaurants and bars are open during Easter, since the Easter Fest is a lot about eating and food here… Some restaurants have special Easter Menus on offer. And actually Easter Brunch on Easter Sunday and Monday seems is a very popular thing to do, too. You might consider to make a reservation…
Have a nice stay!
Thanks a heap! And happy Easter!
Are Flohmarkt im Mauerpark open at easter (monday)?
This answer is probably a bit late for Easter 2016. As far as I know the Flea Market at Mauerpark was only open on Easter Sunday. Other Flea Markets however, like for example the flea market at Ostbahnhof, were also open on Easter Monday. Hope you had a good Easter in Berlin anyways…
Already book flight to Berlin on April next year, but then later I checked it was on Easter weekend. i hope restaurant or any street foods vendor didn’t close or i will die hungry. lol
Considering going to Berlin during Easter 2018, so this was a very useful post. As I understand it, it’s actually only Friday that is affected? In Denmark, Thursday would also be a holiday, and everything closed.
yes, in Berlin the Thursday is a regular day – but Friday AND Monday all shops are closed. However restaurants, bars, etc. are open.
Are museums open in regular hours?
Thanks
Most museums will be open – but please check opening hours when you plan your visit because some museums may have different opening hours during the Easter Weekend. Some smaller museums may even be closed.